Work holder



July 4, 1944. ENNIS 2,352,699

WORK HOLDER Filed.Feb. 16, 1942 INVENTOR EFIRL E/vN/s AT TO RNEY Patented July 4, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WORK HOLDER Earl Ennis, San Francisco, Calif.

Application February 16, 1942, Serial No. 431,125

3 Claims.

The invention relates to a holder for mounting and disposing an article, or work piece, in various positions for facilitating the performance of Work operations upon it.

A general object of the invention is to providea work holder which provides a particularly solid support for the work piece while permitting the disposal of the work piece selectively in a particularly wide range of advantageous positions for working upon it.

Another object is to provide a work holder of the type described which is particularly compact, has a minimum number of parts, and provides a maximum of clear space about a work piece carried by it.

A more specific object is to provide a holder of the type described which is particularly designed for the mounting of flanged articles thereon for their disposal in the necessary position for the performance of various work operations upon them.

The invention possesses other objects and features of advantage, some of which, with the foregoing, will be set forth or be apparent in the following description of a typical embodiment thereof, and in the accompanying drawing, in which,

Figure l is a side elevation of a work holder embodying the present features of invention, an angularly adjustable support post element thereof being shown as disposed horizontally, while an upwardly extending position of the post is indicated in dash lines.

Figure 2 is an end elevation of th work holder having its post element extending upwardly as in the dash line position of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken at the line. 3-3 in Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a perspective view showing the present work holder in use for mounting a carburetor on a work bench by utilizing a Vise on the bench as a mount for the holder.

Essentially, the present work holder comprises a base element 6, a post 1 arranged for the rigid fixing of a work piece to an end portion thereof, and a ball-and-socket connection between the other post end and the base element, said connection being releasably tightenable to fix the post in adjusted angular relation to the base element 6. As illustrated. the post I comprises a work-mounting head 8 and a spherical ball end 9 integrally connected by a cylindrical shank portion ID of suitable length and preferably having a diameter which is appreciably less than that of the ball 9; in the present instance, the

shank diameter is less than half that of the ball.

The socket for complementarily receiving and engaging the ball 9 is provided in part by the base block 6 itself and in part by a keeper member II adjustably and directly mounted on the block. As shown, the element 6 comprises a block of rectangular outline providing a socket portion I2 intermediately in a flat face I3 thereof for complementarily receiving approximately half of the ball end 9 of the post 1, whereby the center of the ball sphere is substantially in the plane of said face. The keeper member II has an upper portion I4 arranged for its operative disposal opposite and along the block face I3 and is provided with an intermediate opening extending transversely therethrough and having a spherically concave annular face defining a socket portion I6 therein and arranged for its complementary seated engagement against the ball while the latter is seated in the socket portion I2 provided by the block 6 and the post I extends through the opening.

At one end of its portion I4, the keeper memher I I is provided with a portion l1 which ex- 1 tends transversely of the portion I4 and, as is brought out in Figure 3, is arranged to be slightly spaced from the opposed end face I8 of the block when the socket portion N5 of the keeper is seated against the ball 9. An anchor pin I9 extends transversely from the block face I8. and

the keeper portion I1 is provided with a transverse hole 2| which is arranged to receive the pin I5 when the keeper is mounted in its operative position with respect to the ball 9. The hole M .is larger than the portion of the pin I 9 extending therethrou h whereby. when the keeper is operative, the bor side opposite the keeper portion I4 may engage the pin for the ossible rocking of the portion IT in its plane. As illustrated, the block end at the face l8 has an intermediate countersunk portion which freely receives the keeper portion IT. and the anchor pin I9 comprises the head portion of a stud screw engaged in the block end. The illustrated keeper II may be thought of as comprising an L-shaped element formed by bending a flat bar transversely of a side thereof to provide its parts I 4 and H.

A stud bolt 22 extends rigidly from the block 5 at its face I3 at a point thereof at the opposite side of the socket portion I2 from the block end at which the anchor pin I9 is provided, and a hole 23 through the opposed keeper portion I 4, and of slightly greater diameter than the bolt 22. freely receives said bolt therethrough. A nut 24 is mounted on the bolt 22 at the opposite side of the keeper portion (4 from the block, and a smooth-sided Washer 26 is interposed between the nut and portion. The nut 24 conveniently engagement of the keeper with the ball as the thumb-nut 24 is tightened against the keeper for the gripping of the ball in the socket to fix the post in a set position thereof.

It will now be noted that the size and form of the keeper opening providing the socket portion 16 are factors determining the limit of setting adjustments of the post 1 with respect to the block 6. With said opening circular, it will be understood that the engagement of the post shank 10 wi h the edge 21 of the socket portion I5 furthest from the block 6 will definitely limit the swinging of the post from a perpendicular relation to the block face l3 toward parallelism with the block face, as is illustrated in the fullline and dash-line showings of Figures 1 to 3. Also, for a given size of ball and/or given spacing of said socket edge from the ball center, the possible angle of post swing within the limits permitted by a full circular opening at the socket portion l6 will vary inversely with the diameter of the post, yet the post can never be even approximately parallel to said face.

Since it may frequently be desirable that the post 1 be disposable in parallel relation to the base face l3, as in Figures 1 and the present structure is appropriately formed to permit this. Accordingly, and as shown, the keeper member I l is formed with a slot 28 extending in the keeper portion M from the hole providing the socket portion l6 to the juncture of this portion with the portion l1 and in and along the latter portion toward the hole 2| which receives the anchor pin '9. The slot 28 is wider than the post shank H to permit the swinging of the post to dispose the post shank therein with the head 8 disposed beyond the block 6, and a groove or trough 29 is provided in the base block 6 opposite the slot portion in the keeper portion M and extends from the socket portion 12 to the block end face 13 for receiving the inner portion of the shank in parallel relation to the block face l3. As particularly shown, the groove 29 is generally semi-cylindric, is wider than the shank, and is preferably deep enough to permit the setting of the post in exact parallel relation to the block face IS without contactinr, the shank; the slot 28 extends in the keeper portion I! to permit the latter relation which is shown in Figure 1 and indicated in Figure 3.

The described and illustrated keeper member l would be made of a resiliently yielding hard metal, or a material of corresponding qualities. and the presence of the shank-receiving slot 28 extending from the socket portion i5 is understood to permit a slight wedging open of the slot or other distortion of the member by the engaged ball 9 whereby to further assure the fitted and even grip of the ball by and between the socket portions as the nut is tightened on the bolt 22 to secure the post in fixed relation to the block. It will also be noted that the tightening or loosening of the ball-and-socket connection now disclosed and described requires but a fraction of a turn of the nut M whereby a disposal of the post in reset position with respect to the base block 6 may be effected in a minimum of time and with a minimum of effort.

Generally speaking, the head of the adjustable support post 1 may be arranged to have various work pieces, or articles to be worked on, mounted thereon in appropriate manners. As particularly shown, however, the present head 8 is arranged for the bolted mounting thereon of a flange F or some other transversely perforated element of flange-like form; the present flange F comprises the base flange of a carburetor C for hydro-carbon fuels. The present head 8 is rectangular in form and has the distance between opposite faces 3! and 32 thereof no more than the diameter of the post shank. A double-ended bolt 33 extends through the head 8 to have its different ends extend from the head faces 3| and 32; said bolt ends mount nuts 34 and are preferably of different diameters whereby they are adapted for use in flange holes of different sizes. The bolt 33 may be removably mounted in the head assembly whereby, when it is dismounted, the head 8 may be removed or inserted through the slot 28; in this manner, the post I may be originally formed in one piece, as is disclosed.

The base block 6, it will now be noted, is ar ranged for its removable mounting on a suitable fixed support. As particularly illustrated in Figure 4, the block fiis gripped between the jaws of a bench vise V mounted on a bench B, the top plane of the vise jaws being assumed to be generally horizontal whereby the pos and the carburetor flange F secured against its face 3| by a nut 34 engaging the bolt may be horizontal by reason. of the permitted swi nine of the post shank IQ into the keeper slot 2. While in such, or any other, adjusted position, the mounted carburetor may, of course, be adjus ably rotated about the horizontal axis of the post, and it will therefore now be evident that the position of the carburetor C. or any other work piece mounted on the head 8, may be adjusted to any required setting with respect to the base block 6.

To facilitate a precise positioning of the block 5 on a vise or other structure providing jaws for gripping it, the block 6 may, shown, have opposite sides thereol rectangularly undercut with respect to the face iii to provide positionim shoulders 35 parallel to said face. It will be noted that this work holder may be mounted on the chuck or the carriage of a machinists lathe for adustably supporting an article to be worked on by the use of such a machine. Also, the particularly compact structure of the present holder provides for the fullest possible a cess to an article mounted upon it. It may, at times, be desirable to fix the present holder to a base plate or a fixed support lacking a clamping means: accordingly, the base member 5 is shown as provided with screw-threaded holes 3; extendin from the opposite side thereof from the fa e I3 and arranged for the application of bolts (not shown) therein for directly bolting it to such a support.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, the advantages ofthe construction and method of will be readily understood by those skilled in the art to which the invention appertains. While I have described the features and the principles of operation of a structure which I now consider to be a preferred embodiment of my invention, I desire to have it understood that the showing is primarily illustrative, and that such changes may be made, when desired, as fall within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a work holder; a base providing a portion of a ball socket extending inwardly from a fiat exterior face thereof and having a second fiat exterior face extending transversely from an edge portion of the first face; a work-carrying post comprising an intermediate shank portion integrally connecting a head portion arranged for the mounting of a work piece thereon and a ball portion arranged for its complementary seating in said socket portion, said shank portion of the post having a less diameter than the ball; an L-shaped keeper member having integrally connected portions thereof disposed opposite the different said base faces, with the keeper portion which is disposed opposite said first face being provided with a transverse opening receiving the post therethrough and providing a portion of the ball socket for seating against said ball at the side thereof opposite the said socket portion provided by the base, said keeper portion also being provided with a transverse slot extending therethrough and therealong from said opening and into the other keeper portion for freely receiving the shank of the post in substantially parallel relation to the first base face; and means connecting the different said keeper portions with the base at the opposed base faces for effecting the centered and forcible gripping of the ball between the socket portions for fixing the post in adjusted relation to the base.

2. In a work holder; a work-carrying post comprising a cylindric shank portion integrally connecting a head portion arranged for the mounting of a work piece thereon and a terminal ball portion of greater diameter than the shank portion; a base providing a portion of a ball socket extending inwardly from an exterior face of the base and complementarily receiving the ball with the center of its sphere substantially in the plane of the face, said base being formed for the disposal of the mounted post in parallel relation to said base face to extend beyond an exterior face of the base which extends transversely of the first face; an L-shaped keeper member having integrally connected portions thereof disposed opposite the different said base faces in spaced relation thereto, with the keeper portion which is disposed opposite said first face being provided with a transverse opening receiving the post therethrough and providing a portion of the ball socket for seating against said ball at the side thereof opposite the said socket portion provided by the base, said keeper portion providing said opening also being provided with a transverse slot extending therethrough and therealong from said opening as an extension thereof and into the other keeper portion for freely receiving the post shank when the same is disposed parallel to the first face of the base; and means connecting the different said keeper portions with the base at the base faces opposite them for effecting the centered and forcible gripping of the ball between the socket portions for fixing the post in adjusted relation to the base.

3. In a work holder, a base providing a portion of a ball socket extending inwardly from one face thereof and having a second face extending transversely from an edge portion of the first face; a work-mounting post providing a ball arranged for its complementary seating in said socket portion; an L-shaped keeper member having the different arms thereof disposed opposite the different said base faces in spaced and generally parallel relation thereto, with the keeper arm disposed opposite said first face receiving the post through an intermediate opening therein transverse to the opposed base face and providing an annular portion of the ball socket and said arm provided with a second transverse opening, and with the second keeper arm provided with an opening transverse to the opposed base face; an anchor pin extending rigidly from said second base face and freely into the opening of the second keeper arm; and a bolt extending rigidly from the base and freely through the second opening of the first keeper arm and mounting a nut at the opposite side of the arm from the opposed base face for tightening against the arm to effect a releasable gripping of the ball between the socket portions.

EARL ENNIS. 

